Next gen folding rig

[Russ_64]

So what is your next generation folding rig going to be?

[Rise]

other: the cheapest dual core I can find that can run multiple GPUs

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Core i7 b/c you can throw 6 video cards on it.

Edit: That's what I think would be best.

Most likely.... nothing. No funds I could justify to run a 4th computer.

AM2+/AM3 deneb looks enticing as well.

[Rise]

Core i7 b/c you can throw 6 video cards on it.

i thought the most anyone ever got to run at the same time was like... 3?

[Kingcarcas]

Westmere or Sandy Bridge

[Russ_64]

Westmere or Sandy Bridge

I must be missing something here

Anyhow, Yes - I guess there should have been an option for GPU only rigs

I will go for a Phenom II 940 Black 3.0Ghz which should OC to at least 4Ghz under a waterblock ...... plus benefit is I can upgrade my B2 rig at a much lower cost than going to Core i7.

[Sparky]

I'm planning on buying a Phenom II for my main rig.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

i thought the most anyone ever got to run at the same time was like... 3?

Lots of people are running 4 cards. Many are doing dual 9800gx2s.

If I have the time, I'll throw another 9600gso in my farm to make it 4 cards. I can't run over 4 due to the physical limitation.

Any reason why you can't just run a 5th instance of the gpu2 client?

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

I'm planning on buying a Phenom II for my main rig.

What mobo are you using? I have an ASUS M3A78-EM with a crappy 5000+ sitting in it. I'd love to see how it OC's, but I'm using a stock heatsink.

I am really considering phenom II as an upgrade along with throwing my old 8800gts in there. That rig should put up some decent numbers.

[Sparky]

I don't know what board yet since I am going to get AM3. I'll have to see what my AM3 board options are. DDR2 is so 2008

My long-term plan is to get phenom II for my main rig and turn my Q6600 into a dedicated cruncher to replace the 4 single core crunchers on WCG for power efficiency reasons (plus the q6600 @ 3.2 >> 4 single cores at 2GHz or so). I'll be paying my own electric bill this coming may so I won't have as much freedom to just suck down the juice willy-nilly. I did get a Kill-A-Watt so I'm going to see how much power stuff pulls. Right now I know my PC at full crunching load (SMP on q6600 + 4870) pulls about 360W from the wall. I'm going to be testing my crunchers next.

[[XC] Synthetickiller]

Ah. I plan on getting the AM2+ version so I won't have to buy DDR3 and a new board. I'm hoping they'll do the AM2+ version justice.

[Sparky]

All the testing that has been done on them so far is on a current 790 chipset with SB750. The 6GHz run was on a gigabyte 790GX board.

[p2501]

I'm really eager to see how the PII will do for folding! But since this is a question about the next best single crunching rig, then I'd say Nehalem with a 6x PCIe x16 board, fully loaded with 6 watercooled GTX260 216 cards.

For me it'll be something else though. I'll keep my Q6600 and change the board, going from a Maximus Formula to a EVGA 780i FTW. I'll put an extra RAM kit in there (that makes 8GB for no future VM problems) and cool the NB/SB with water (the nice Bitspower complete block when it's out). For the MOSFETS I've already bought the nice Rev2 kit from John:



The CPU will get a Swiftech GTZ. Yeah, that's it, no new next gen crunching rig, just some refined old tech. And all that jazz just for the 3rd x16 slot, if I'm lucky I'll fill all three with GTX260 216 next year or some new 55nm variant and sell my 9600GSO's (at least that is what's planned, let's see how this goes, they won't be watercooled though).

[catawalks]

Just ordered my Core i7 rig, so I guess that'll be my next gen rig. But after this upgrade I plan to do shanghai on my dual opteron 2350 system.

[MikeB12]

I'm good for now... maybe some upgrades here and there. but no new complete systems for me right now... I spent too much money from oct 07-sept 08 to go hawg wild again on pc hobby expenses.. once these get aged or get tired, I'll think about some new systems...

[grimREEFER]

i dont plan on upgrading, but clearly the system of choice will be the core i7.
hyperthreading should help alot, and so should the multiple x16 slots.

[DrJay]

How about a dual socket F board with two quad Opterons?

[Sparky]

How about a dual socket F board with two quad Opterons?

That would be fun. Don't think that would fit in my budget too well though

[Russ_64]

Why stop at Dual Opteron - how about a Tyan S4980 with 4x Opteron 8347. Only 3,600GBP in UK

I am guessing that a dual setup would set me back about 1,500GBP whereas upgrading my 2nd rig to Phenom II 940 will be about 350GBP.

[Particle]

Russ, I just built a dual quad-core Opteron setup for $1200. If you watered it down a bit, you could do:

Dual Opteron 2350s (65nm, quad, 2.0GHz)
4GB ECC Reg DDR2-667
Tyan S2912 Dual-F
~500W FSP
Generic ATX Case
Any SATA HDD

...for well under $800. If you just want to fold though, you're better off with a GPU.

[OldChap]

I just wish one of the manufacturers would build a Folding motherboard ....a bit oversized with maybe 6 or even 8 pcie x8 doublespaced slots. I'd even settle for a kind of riser so that existing slots could run more that one card. Hey dont worry about fitting some form factor I'll build my own case and stuff!!

[MaK2000]

With the way it is right now I am thinking 2nd gen Core i7 with three GeForce 380s. Hope that didn't give away my fanboyism.

[Bobsama]

I'm going to have to say Xeon DP--when 8-core processors get affordable!

[DrJay]

I just wish one of the manufacturers would build a Folding motherboard ....a bit oversized with maybe 6 or even 8 pcie x8 doublespaced slots. I'd even settle for a kind of riser so that existing slots could run more that one card. Hey dont worry about fitting some form factor I'll build my own case and stuff!!

I seem to remember seeing a kind of external enclosure for PCI-e video cards. Something that was meant for laptops without much graphical power. Perhaps that would be a solution for those who don't want to build a whole new system just to get another PCI-e slot.
Can't remember where I saw that.

[Trunks]

Who will fold with the monster GTX295 in there "nextgen" folding rig?

Dual (or quad) GTX295 = PPD